The Last Terrarians
by defectiverainbow
Summary: Rufus Emerson is not a hero. He's a scared teen that's in way over his head, and there's nowhere for him to run this time. Stranded on a remote island with a unique group of survivors, Rufus must step up and fight back against the creatures lurking in the shadows- Or lose everything he holds dear.


_**Author's Note:** This story contains naughty language, gore, mentions of suicide, crude humor, and character death. If any of these things bother you, I suggest moving on. It takes time to set up a storyline like this, so the first chapter is a little slow._

Rufus wanted to kill himself.

He had a lot of options, thankfully. A rock stood only a few feet away from him, and it looked like the perfect size for a fatal head injury. Or maybe Rufus could climb one of those trees in the distance and throw himself off it. Bonus points for every bone he snapped in the process.

Honestly, he didn't care how it happened. Anything was better than this...

Rufus sat lazily underneath the shade of a palm tree, watching the sun slowly disappear beyond the horizon. It had to be the most impressive sunset he'd ever seen, with streaks of pink and orange stretching across the sky. Every few minutes, he would tear his eyes away and gaze across the ocean's expanse in the hopes of spotting a passing boat. It never happened.

Although the pretty scenery helped to put him at ease, it didn't distract Rufus much from his terrible predicament. In less than a few hours, his life had turned into some sort of horror film. Jumping off the cruise ship, fighting for his life against the ocean's cold grasp, finding himself stranded on this fucking island… It all felt unrealistic somehow, out of place in Rufus's ordinary life full of ordinary things. Fearless movie characters are supposed to deal with this kind of island survival shit, not a sophomore in high school with an acne problem and noodle arms.

What did Rufus do to deserve all of this? Every hour that passed diminished his hope of being rescued a bit more, and he didn't like his chances of surviving after nightfall. Not to mention he hadn't found a single piece of food throughout the day, and the familiar feeling of hunger was already gnawing at his belly. It felt like the world was against him. A whole island full of life, and he found _nothing_ edible?

Rufus felt a strong urge to just run into the ocean's waves and let them consume him. End his misery right then and there, instead of trying to fight a hopeless battle. Drowning had seemed horrible only hours before, but now it almost looked welcoming. He imagined how it would feel to let the water overwhelm him, allowing all of his problems to fade away in harmony with his heartbeat…

_You're a coward._ The same nasty voice that had taunted Rufus since second grade filled his head. _Even in a situation like this, you just want to give up._

"Can you blame me?" Rufus muttered, tracing a frowny-face in the sand. Okay, maybe he _was_ acting a bit dramatic. But suicide definitely sounded a whole lot better than his current situation- Slowly shriveling up until there's nothing left of him except bones. Starving to death was not his idea of fun.

He looked up at the darkening sky, trying to rein in the panic that had been slowly consuming him all day. In a moment of pure intuition, Rufus knew that this island will be where he dies.

-x-x-x-

There's certain experiences in life that define who you are as a person. Events that change everything drastically, to the point where you feel homesick in your own room. And there's always this split second where you know everything will be different, that part of your identity has reformed and whatever person you were before all that has withered away.

When Rufus saw the girl's limp body, he knew this was one of those moments.

The corpse laid splayed out in the sand a few feet away. If not for being stuck on a seemingly desolate island, Rufus would've assumed that someone had moved her body; she looked lifeless in the way a puppet moves without intent, her limbs twisted this way and that in an unnatural-looking position, and her eyes open just enough to show a sliver of white.

An image like that can permanently change you, burrowing deep into your soul and festering like an infected wound. Every detail is etched into your mind- Brown hair strewn across the gore-stained sand, ripped clothing exposing the deep teeth marks all across her stomach... What could have done this?

The first time Rufus saw her, he had immediately bent down and hurled. After that, he decided to completely avoid the body- However, after two large birds started pecking at her, he hesitantly resolved to stay close and chase away predators. The poor girl didn't deserve any more suffering.

Hours later, it became terribly apparent that the lifeless corpse might be his only company for quite a while. Rufus took to imagining what her life was like before it was taken away so abruptly. If she were still alive, would they have become friends? She looked only a few years older than him, and, surprisingly, was dressed in a distinctly American style. Somehow, the girl reminded him a bit of Beyoncé, if she were twenty years younger and dressed like a hobo.

Rufus crouched down beside her, breathing out of his mouth to avoid the putrid smell. He allowed himself to contemplate the idea of burying young Beyoncé, having finally come to the brutal realization that a rescue wouldn't be happening anytime soon. It was time to take matters into his own hands. His own completely incapable and inexperienced hands.

The teen's stomach rumbled. "Might have to eat you if I don't find food soon," Rufus joked at the corpse, then immediately regretted it. Would he actually resort to cannibalism if it came to that?

A flurry of movement from the corner of his eye made Rufus look up, and, to his complete shock, two strangers stood a few feet away. A boy and a girl, both looking to be about his age, and both hardcore staring at him. Probably because he was standing over a corpse and making jokes about eating it. Whoops.

"I'm not a cannibal!" Rufus cried out, then covered his mouth to avoid saying anything else equally stupid.

The girl narrowed her eyes, looking him up and down. "Could've fooled me. Are you from the cruise ship too?"

"You're from…" It took a second for Rufus to register her response, and for the first time he noticed their wet hair and semi-damp clothing. It hadn't even occurred to him that someone else could've washed up on the island. Questions started filling his brain- If they were able to survive, how many others did as well? Was hobo Beyoncé from the ship too? Could his father be alive after all?

After the cruise ship fiasco, Rufus assumed his life would never be the same. Now though, a glimmer of hope ignited inside him. He wasn't alone anymore. His father could still be out there somewhere. If they could just make it off this stupid island, maybe he could return to his normal life after all. Maybe everything will be okay.

"I'm Morgan," the girl said, still eyeing him warily. "Looks like we're in the same boat."

"Uh, yeah," Rufus muttered, avoiding her eyes. He always felt intimidated by pretty females, and she was no exception. Although there were plenty of blemishes all across her brown skin- A scar on her wrist, and some sort of bruise or birthmark splashed across her neck and chin- Morgan had a natural kind of beauty that felt rare in a world full of makeup and plastic surgery.

"And I'm Leo," the boy added, his gaze wandering towards Beyoncé's body. He flinched, quickly looking away. "I'm really sorry about your friend."

"I have no idea who that is. She was d- I mean, she was like that when I got here." Rufus paused, suddenly unsure of himself. How do you greet fellow castaways? "Uh, name's Rufus. Have you seen anyone else on this island?"

Morgan inspected the corpse, her expression staying stoic. "We haven't found any signs of civilization, if that's what you mean. The island is probably deserted."

"So we really are completely alone out here, huh?" Rufus took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "Fuck."

"Well, all three of us came from the cruise ship, right? Maybe there's more survivors," Leo suggested, hope shining in his eyes. His babyish face matched the innocence in his suggestion. He fit the category of 'cute' rather than 'handsome', sporting a colorful shirt and gray shorts. A mop of curly brown hair complemented his dark skin tone.

Morgan shook her head. "If there are more survivors, I doubt they'll end up here. The chances of washing up on the same island seems pretty slim. Honestly, it's surprising we managed it."

"Then who's that?" Leo pointed towards a wall of overgrowth in the distance, and Rufus followed his gaze. A girl sat atop one of the tallest trees, waving at them wildly with one hand. There was another survivor after all.

Morgan glanced at the setting sun, looking worried. "Okay, so… We meet up with the girl, then try to make a campfire before nightfall. If we hurry, it should be fine."

She started walking towards the forest, and Rufus quickly interjected. "What about the girl's body?"

"What do you mean?"

"We can't just leave her there..."

Morgan turned towards him, cocking her head slightly. "You seriously aren't suggesting we bury her, right?"

Rufus put on a reproachful look, his initial liking for her suddenly diminishing. "Yeah, I am. Because, you know, that's the humane thing to do? Besides, her corpse will attract animals."

"He has a point." Leo pointed at a pile of rocks nearby. "We could drag her over there and bury her with those. I think that's the best we can do."

Morgan shook her head. "We don't have time for that. Let's focus on survival first, okay?"

"This is important," Rufus insisted. "I can't leave her like this."

"You said you didn't know her," Morgan reminded him. "Why do you care?"

"I didn't know her," Rufus growled, annoyed at the accusation behind her words. "I just don't want to leave this poor girl to be eaten by animals. It's called empathy, Morgan. Try it sometime."

Leo let out an awkward laugh. "Okay guys, let's just chill-"

"_Empathy?_" Morgan snarled, her features etched in disbelief. "This is a life-and-death situation. You guys understand that, right? There's no way of telling how long we'll be stuck out here. What we need to do is find that girl and make a fire before night comes. We don't have time to bury some nobody that got herself killed."

"That's not-"

Morgan interrupted him, her face flushed with anger. "Think for a second. Whatever killed her is still out there somewhere. Do you really want to be stuck in the dark, utterly exposed? Our first priority should be finding that girl, not-"

Rufus took a step towards her, feeling his face flush as well. Why was she acting so aggressive? "What's wrong with you? She died horribly, Morgan! We can't leave her body to get mutilated by some animal."

"Her body is already mutilated! A little more mutilation won't hurt anything."

"Let's not fight, guys," Leo whimpered.

Rufus took a deep breath. "Look… I'm sorry, but I can't leave her like this. Look at her clothes. She was a survivor, Morgan. Just like us."

"So?"

"_So?_ Any of us could've ended up exactly like her! Imagine that. Imagine your body laying there instead of her's." Rufus met her eyes. "If I die on this fucking island, I'd want someone to bury me. Wouldn't you?"

There was a moment of silence as all three survivors looked at the girl's body. It was a gruesome sight.

"Fine," Morgan snapped, and began walking away from them. "You two have fun wasting our valuable time. I'm going to find that girl and bring her back here. If I'm not back before you're done, try to make a campfire yourselves."

"We should stick together!" Leo called after her, but she either didn't hear or completely ignored him. There was a moment of silence as the two teens watched her walk farther inland, and her slim figure disappeared inside the thick undergrowth.

"Well, that could've gone better," Rufus stated wryly.

-x-x-x-

The island felt like a completely different place at night.

When he first arrived, Rufus found his surroundings to be rather beautiful. The strange flowers blooming everywhere, impressive trees towering high enough to touch the sky, dozens of colorful butterflies flying lazily about... At one point, he could've sworn a squirrel with shiny gold fur had darted past him. Considering most of his life was spent living in an apartment deep within a gray-colored city, the variety of colors completely shocked him. It all felt almost unreal.

After nightfall, the island dropped all pretenses of being a paradise. Something sinister perverted the air, as if confirming the presence of evil. Strange shadows seemed to lurk in the corner of his vision, and a biting cold had swept in immediately after the sun disappeared. Although it could be chalked up to paranoia, Rufus felt an intense notion of unease. He knew something horrible was going to happen that night.

"Seriously?" Rufus groaned in frustration, having just failed his eighth attempt at starting a fire. The teen dropped his makeshift spindle and looked up at the sky, hating himself for not being an outdoorsy person whatsoever.

"Do you think Morgan will be okay?"

Rufus glanced at Leo's black silhouette, interrupting his self-deprecating thoughts. With everything plunged into darkness, it was hard to navigate- And he was acutely aware of how easily someone could get lost on such a large island. It seemed quite possible Morgan was wandering aimlessly deep within the forest, terrified and completely alone. God, that's terrible.

"I dunno," Rufus muttered, rubbing his hands together for warmth.

"Did we do the right thing? Letting her stomp off like that?"

"I dunno," he repeated, "Maybe I was being stubborn. Maybe we should've listened to her."

His eyes wandered towards the mound where they buried her body- Which had taken a surprisingly long amount of time. Rufus had continuously paused to vomit while they carried the girl's body off the beach, and Leo's noodle arms were extremely inadequate for moving the large rocks they used to bury her. Needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant experience.

A lone howl echoed throughout the night sky, and Leo jumped to his feet nervously. "Wolves? That sounded really close."

"Hopefully we..." Rufus paused, tilting his head slightly. "Do you hear that?"

A loud rustling noise came from behind them, and Rufus quickly turned around. With nothing else within arm-length, he grabbed a stick and brandished it at the ominous sound. Two girls emerged from the darkness, one looking all too familiar.

Morgan looked at his stick skeptically. "What exactly was your plan? Poke the wolf to death?"

"Don't underestimate me," Rufus said, struggling to keep the relief out of his voice. "Did you two get lost?"

"Nope." Morgan pushed him out of the way and inspected his makeshift tinder nest and spindle. She grabbed a piece of bark and began rubbing the spindle against it.

"Oh, we were completely lost," the other girl replied. "Then we heard you two talking pretty loudly, and now we're here."

"Not lost, per say…" Morgan said, still furiously rubbing the spindle against bark. A stray spark landed on the tinder nest, igniting a small fire. "It was just too dark to see where we were going."

The group immediately surrounded the fire, sitting just close enough to avoid burns. There was a few seconds of silence as they bathed in the newfound warmth gratefully, then Leo turned to their new companion. "So, you're a fellow survivor? From the cruise ship?"

"Yep. Name's Amanda." She paused, dusting off her jean shorts with a look of disgust. "God, I must look terrible right now. Anyway, Morgan told me a bit about you two."

"Good things, I hope?" Leo questioned, although he seemed absorbed in watching a beetle crawl around.

"Just your names and stuff. It's so weird that… I honestly can't believe any of this is happening," Amanda said, letting out a shaky laugh. The campfire's light gave Rufus only a few details: A pretty face, blue eyes, blonde hair with a bow holding it up. She reminded him of those stereotypical cheerleaders in movies.

"None of us can," Rufus replied grimly. "It feels so…"

"Fucked up?" Morgan finished for him, staring into the fire with a stony expression.

"I was going to say unfair, but… Yeah."

Leo looked up at the stars. "Well, at least we're stranded on a pretty island. You can't get a view like this from Texas, that's for sure."

"Your positivity is exhausting," Morgan growled, tearing one of the petals off a nearby flower and throwing it into the fire. She watched it burn in an instant, and regret flickered across her face.

"Don't listen to her, Leo." Rufus half-smiled at him encouragingly. "If there's anything we need right now, it's some positivity."

Morgan glared at Rufus from across the fire, and he purposely met her eyes. What's her fucking problem?

Their conversation faltered for a second, and the silence was filled with the sounds of a crackling campfire and chirping crickets. Rufus suddenly realized that this conversation marked the first time he'd been in a friend group since… Well, since forever. He had very few friends back home.

_They aren't your friends,_ the voice in his head scolded him. _Don't get too attached. None of you are getting out of this alive anyway._

"When I was a kid," Leo started, suddenly breaking the silence, "my parents would take me camping. It was a bit like this, except with more sleeping bags and less misery."

"If camping is anything like this, I would hate it." Amanda muttered, then groaned as she slapped a beetle off her leg. "I hate this place. I miss my bed. Oh god, I miss my _phone_. No offense, but I would actually strangle any of you right now for just one text message."

Rufus blinked. "That's worrisome."

"I do wish we had some food," Leo admitted, squinting at the darkness to check if the beetle Amanda had thrown was okay. "Mashed potatoes sounds really good right now."

"Of all your options, you picked mashed potatoes?" Morgan critiqued.

Rufus hesitated, but a sudden bout of hunger pains inspired him to continue. "Well, we did find _something_ edible…"

"Oh yeah!" Leo turned around, grabbing one from a small pile they had gathered earlier. He held it up for the others to see- A rather oversized mushroom with red spots decorating the cap.

"I would kill myself before I ever ate a raw mushroom," Amanda stated flatly.

"Well, I can cook a few over the fire," Leo offered. "We eat mushrooms on pizza all the time, right? This wouldn't be any different."

Amanda shook her head. "Please tell me I'm not the only one that thinks this is a bad idea? Come on, those could be poisonous."

"My dad gave me a survival book last summer," Rufus said, frowning slightly. "I think it said that if you cut a piece of it off and stick it on your tongue-"

"Guess there's only one way to find out," Leo said, and suddenly took an impressive bite out of the mushroom cap. Everyone stared at him in shocked silence as he slowly chewed, waiting for him to faint or barf it up- Something along those lines. Nothing happened.

"That was anticlimactic," Morgan complained.

"We might have to wait awhile and see if he's affected by it," Rufus said, slightly ruffled by the idea of using Leo as a guinea pig.

"It tastes perfectly fine," Leo promised, reaching for another bite of the mushroom.

"Don't choke," Amanda warned Leo the moment he put the oversized mushroom in his mouth, wriggling her eyebrows at him. This caused him to choke, and a piece of it flew out of his mouth, hitting her directly in the forehead. Amanda instantly began screeching (cuz that's gross), and Rufus quickly shushed her. When that didn't work, Morgan stood up and clamped her hand over the other girl's mouth.

"Are you stupid?" Morgan hissed in her ear. "Are you _trying_ to alert every predator on this island that we're here?"

A low groaning noise echoed through the forest, and the group slowly stood up. Rufus scanned their surroundings frantically, straining his eyes to see despite the darkness.

"What was that?" Leo whispered. "The wind?"

Rufus felt confident it wasn't the wind. In fact, the noise sounded almost human, but that wasn't possible. Right? Excluding themselves, the only human around was…

Amanda made a noise of pure terror, and the others followed her gaze. The pile of rocks that had once buried the young girl's corpse were scattered about, and her body was nowhere to be seen.

"What the-" Rufus started, but he was cut off by a groan coming from behind them.

He quickly flipped around, and his eyes met a pair of red pupils. The brown hair, ripped clothing, bloodied chest- Rufus stumbled away from the creature, unable to comprehend it. She should've been dead.

The girl lunged at him, and he was pulled out of her reach just in time. "Run!" Morgan screamed, pushing him away from the fire. He took her advice, instinctively sprinting into the darkness.

Branches clawed at Rufus's face as he desperately pushed through the thick overgrowth. He only made it a few yards before something caught his foot, and he slammed into the ground. Suddenly the world was spinning. Memories of her dead body flashed through his mind. She had to be dead. How was she not dead?

After a few moments of laying there, completely shell-shocked, Rufus felt his adrenaline-induced panic die down. He began to form coherent thoughts once again. Where did the others go? Did the girl chase after them or _him?_ Fuck, why hadn't he followed his friends? As someone who watched horror movies regularly, Rufus was completely aware that being separated from the main group usually resulted in death.

Rufus slowly picked himself up. He stepped on a twig, and the loud snap made him flinch. He stood completely still for a few seconds, listening intently. Did she hear him? Was she lurking in the darkness, waiting for the right moment to finish off her prey?

"Stop it," Rufus muttered to himself, struggling to keep his fear in check. "Nobody is here except me."

At that exact moment, he noticed a pair of blood-red eyes peering at him from the darkness. Rufus began to scream, but it was cut off as two ice-cold hands wrapped around his neck, slamming him against a tree and hoisting his body off the ground. He thrashed and kicked at the creature, gasping desperately for air.

"_Lies,_" she seethed, her face distorted in anger and pain. "_Lies and betrayal._"

"W- what?" Rufus sputtered, unable to think clearly. Sharp fingernails dug further into his flesh, sending warm blood trickling down his chest. His consciousness began to slip away, and he fought to keep his eyes open.

"_You killed me,_" the dead girl hissed. Her bony hands suddenly tightened around his neck, and his vision flashed red for a second. "_Now it's my turn._"

He slammed a fist into her arm, and it broke away from her body with a sickening crunch. The dead girl screeched and stumbled away, which sent Rufus crashing to the ground like a rag doll. He instantly grabbed the detached arm, brandishing it at her.

"Stay away!" Rufus croaked, his throat burning from all the strangling. What the fuck was she talking about?

The corpse did not seem too afraid of his newfound weapon. She lunged at him, and he mentally prepared himself for death.

A flash of movement caught Rufus's attention, and he noticed a black silhouette behind the girl. Her eyes widened, and the monster's whole body suddenly went rigid. She slowly staggered forwards, then her body crumbled to the ground, revealing an axe embedded deep within her back.

A stranger stepped closer to him, offering their hand. "Fucking hell, man. Are you okay?"

Rufus was absolutely not okay. Nothing about what just happened was okay. His windpipe felt like a crushed soda can, fresh blood dripped from wounds he was only just noticing, and exhaustion threatened to overtake him. Despite all this, Rufus nodded and let the stranger help him up.

"My name is Derek. What about you?" The voice sounded male, and his lack of an accent suggested he was American.

"I'm Rufus." He took a shaky breath, trying to organize his thoughts. "You're from the cruise ship too?"

"Oh, wow. Yeah, how'd you know?"

Rufus stumbled towards the dead girl's body, and his hand hesitantly brushed over her cold skin. Was she _actually_ dead now?

He looked up at Derek. "There's apparently quite a few survivors, and we all washed up on the same island somehow. This zombie-thing separated us though. Have you seen any of them?"

"You're the first person I've met since I got here. Was she… I mean, I could tell something was wrong with her, but… Was that thing really a zombie?"

"Maybe? She was dead, and then… Suddenly she wasn't. Sounds pretty zombie-ish to me." Rufus slowly lifted up one of the girl's eyelids. The pupils were still completely red. "Do you think there was any humanity left inside her? Like, did she have any memories of what happened before she died?"

Derek simply shrugged, letting him ponder his questions alone. The girl had at least a few memories, right? That's why she was angry. But… Why did she think he'd killed her? Could she have mistaken him for someone else?

Rufus grabbed the axe's handle, gently pulling it out of her back. A sudden thought made him frown. "Wait. Where'd you get an axe?"

A cold hand gripped his wrist, and Rufus cried out in surprise. She wasn't dead after all. The girl's body convulsed violently, and tears fell from her face. She looked into his eyes. "_Don't trust her._"

Rufus wrenched his hand away from the corpse. "Maybe we should leave. Like, right now."

-x-x-x-

"It's over here! I guess we weren't lost after all."

Rufus shot an accusatory glance at Derek, who was barely visible in the darkness. "We were lost? I thought you knew where it was?"

"I do. I mean, I did. Whatever. We're here now, and that's what matters, right?" Derek felt around in the darkness, and his hand connected to wood. He followed the wall, trying to find a door. "I ran into this cabin only a few hours after washing up on the island. Then I heard you screaming for help and ran out with an axe."

"So, if there's a house here… Does that mean we're not the only ones on this island after all?"

"Seems like it, but that doesn't really make sense. I mean, the only evidence of civilization we've found is this random cabin in the middle of nowhere? That feels… Wrong. This whole island feels wrong, actually. It gives me the creeps." Derek suddenly stopped, and Rufus bumped into his back. "Found the door!"

"Don't just-"

"Shhh!" Derek quickly covered his mouth with a hand, and Rufus immediately licked it. The hand disappeared at a record speed. "Ew! What's wrong with you?!"

"Don't shush me."

"Just listen!"

Rufus paused. Faint voices echoed just beyond the door, and a chill went down his spine. Who could already be in the cabin?

Derek tilted his head. "I think I heard a name. Something like… Amanda?"

Rufus instantly burst through the door, and there sat his friends- Or they were sitting, until his unannounced entrance caused all of them to jump up. Leo cried out, then ran over to hug him.

"I thought you were dead!" Leo exclaimed, and his tight embrace took the air out of Rufus's lungs. A fresh burst of pain washed through him. Fuck.

"Uh, nope," he muttered, awkwardly patting Leo's back. "But I might be if you don't let go soon."

"Took you long enough to show up," Morgan stated flatly, watching from across the room. The only light source was a small fireplace, which cast just barely enough light to see her face. She looked relieved.

Amanda noticed Derek stepping through the doorway, and she had to squint to see him clearly. "Who's your handsome friend over there?"

"Oh, that's Derek. He's a fellow survivor that saved me from the zombie girl from earlier. Everyone say hello."

"Hello," the group said in unison, excluding Morgan. She was eyeing the bloody axe in his limp hands.

"Anyway, I wanted to show you- Woah, wait." Leo stared at the fresh blood soaking through his clothing, and pulled at Rufus's shirt collar, revealing jagged scars across his shoulder. "You're bleeding bad, dude. And those marks on your neck…"

Rufus pushed his hand away, flinching slightly. "I'm fine, she- I mean, it was just a close call. The scars aren't very deep."

"I dunno man, that's a lot of blood. Maybe we can bandage it somehow. Let me see if there's anything around here…" Leo wandered away, and Rufus let himself sink to the ground. Agh, his body felt so sore.

Morgan approached, settling beside him awkwardly. A moment of silence passed as Rufus waited for her to berate him somehow, but all she offered was a stiff half-smile. What the actual _fuck_.

"Stop."

Morgan's face instantly fell into a scowl, which definitely fit better. "I was trying to be friendly."

"Why? Why now, when you've-" Rufus stopped mid-sentence and sighed, massaging his temples lightly. "That's… I can't do this right now, man. I'm too tired to fight with you again."

"I didn't mean to…" She trailed off, then shrugged listlessly. "Sorry. You need rest. I'll leave you to it."

Well, fuck. Way to make a guy feel guilty.

Rufus raised a hand to stop her from leaving. "Wait. Sorry, I'm being a dick. It's just been a long day, you know?"

"Yeah. I guess." The conversation paused as Morgan watched Derek pass by them and stretch out in front of the fire. "I just wanted to apologize. For earlier today."

"Oh. It's fine. I mean, that argument was my fault too."

"I know," Morgan stated bluntly. "And I still think I was right. Burying the body was a waste of time."

"You suck at apologies."

"I'm not apologizing for arguing with you." Her voice hardened. "I'm never going to apologize for speaking my mind."

Rufus felt his face blush slightly. "That's not-"

"But I could've handled it better. I mean, sometimes I forget that…" She sighed, shaking her head slightly. "You could've fucking died out there, Rufus. God damn. I keep forgetting how temporary everything is. I just don't want any hard feelings between us anymore, just in case one of us… You know."

"I know," Rufus agreed, grimacing slightly.

"So… I'm being friendly," Morgan said, forcing another stiff half-smile onto her face.

'Friendly' felt like a stretch, but at least she was trying. Rufus smiled back in return, suddenly realizing how relieved he was to not be alone in this nightmare. And, now that he wasn't blinded by his burning hatred for her, Rufus couldn't help noticing how pretty Morgan looked while smiling.

"There are absolutely no medical supplies in this cabin," Leo announced, walking out of another room. "So I suggest abstaining from any more injuries, my dudes."

"What about Rufus?" Amanda questioned, giving him a doubtful look-over. She was leaning against Derek's shoulder, who was sitting up close to the fireplace. He didn't seem to mind the attention.

"I'm fine," Rufus muttered. That was a complete lie. Although his bleeding had lessened quite a bit, he still felt pretty nauseous from blood loss and couldn't breathe deeply without flinching in pain. However, Rufus felt tired more than anything. He was likely to collapse if he didn't get some rest soon.

Leo shrugged. "I don't think there's much we can do for him other than pray those scratches don't get infected. Bandages would really help with that, but I can't find any."

"I can rip off a piece of my clothes," Derek offered. Before anyone could respond, he bit into the bottom of his shirt and tore a large chunk of it off. He offered it to Leo.

Leo stared at him for a second, then took the fabric with a slight blush. He knelt by Rufus and looped the makeshift bandage around his shoulder, apparently opting to simply wrap it over his bloodied shirt. He carefully tightened the bandage, and Rufus gritted his teeth in pain.

"Are you gonna tell us what happened?

Rufus looked up at Leo. "What?"

He hesitated, glancing at the others for help. "The girl that attacked us. Did she bite you?"

Amanda shook her head. "C'mon, you're still on that? She wasn't a zombie, Leo. This is real life."

"What do you think happened then?" Leo demanded. "Cuz she was definitely dead when we buried her. How do you explain that?"

"I dunno! I just know she wasn't a zombie. There has to be a better explanation than _that_."

Leo looked at Rufus for support. "You saw her more than any of us. She was totally a zombie, right?"

Rufus hesitated, avoiding his eyes. "Uh, I'm not sure…"

"Show him the book," Morgan suggested.

Leo walked over to the fireplace and crouched down, opening a large book that was sitting on the ground. "We found this thing underneath a loose wooden floorboard earlier. There's a lot of weird stuff in this place."

Rufus followed him, staring down at the dusty tome. "It's in English?"

"Yep. But there's more. Read some of it."

He quickly scanned it, and a few things immediately became apparent. It appeared to be some sort of mythology book- one of the many hints that there was a lot more to this island than it seemed. Rufus flipped through the first few pages, which described, believe it or not, creatures like golems, spirits, and dragons in great detail- Crazy stuff. Fantasy stuff, obviously. None of those actually exist.

Rufus looked back to Leo, tilting his head slightly. "Why are you showing me this? It's just a bunch of fables."

"He thinks they're real," Amanda scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Leo's face flushed slightly, and he quickly turned to a certain page. "Just give me a chance. Look, see this?"

The word zombie was written in a scratchy cursive at the top of the page. He was ready to laugh this weird coincidence away, but then Rufus found himself staring into a drawing of those same blood-red eyes. And his world began to fall apart, because that did exist. And there was more, descriptions of bloodied corpses with vague remnants of memories, wandering the night in an eternal search for their murderer-

Rufus slammed the book closed, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Everyone flinched slightly, and Leo touched his shoulder lightly. "Was it… I mean, you think it's real too?

"It doesn't matter," he snapped. "We'll be off this damned island before any of it matters."

Without it's thick coating of dust, the book's title became visible. It read, _'The Island of Terraria.'_


End file.
